BOSTON -- Friday night started with two teams trying to shake off an ugly opening loss, and it ended with the Boston Celtics finding the one player they could trust to put the game away.
The Celtics had already lived through a nightmare in their season opener, coughing up a 22-point lead to the Detroit Pistons. Back home for the first time, they needed a response. The New York Knicks were in the same boat after losing their first game of the season on Ring Night, with the Philadelphia 76ers stealing the celebration.
Neither team came out looking sharp. Boston led by one at halftime, but the first two quarters were more survival than statement. Then the Celtics finally tilted the game in their direction in the third, with Jayson Tatum and Neemias Queta driving the push.
The Knicks, though, refused to disappear. By the fourth quarter, it had turned into the kind of grind they seem to thrive in, and with under four minutes left, the margin was down to a single possession.
Jalen Brunson answered with a bucket. Tatum came back with a drive.
Josh Hart hit a three. Brunson scored again.
Tatum answered with a turnaround mid-range jumper. Every possession mattered.
Then came the moment that swung the night. With the clock nearing one minute, Tatum drew an offensive foul on Karl-Anthony Towns on an illegal screen, and TD Garden exploded. Boston still only led by three, but the Celtics were suddenly on the front foot.
On the next trip, it looked like the Knicks had Tatum bottled up. He rose anyway and drilled a big mid-range jumper to stretch the lead.
Then he buried a triple. Tatum had taken over completely, and Boston had the finish it needed.
Neemias Queta was the other major reason the Celtics got control in the third quarter. The box score didn’t fully show it at first, but his energy was impossible to miss.
He was flying around, crashing the glass, making plays offensively, and even knocked down a corner three. His stretch in the third changed the feel of the game entirely, turning a tight contest into one that felt firmly Boston’s for the first time.
If the Celtics keep getting that version of Queta, he should be seeing the most minutes among their centers, and it’s not particularly close.
Mitchell Robinson had the kind of night the Knicks could not afford from their big man rotation. After saying he was disappointed with his season-opening performance against the Pistons, he followed that up with another rough outing.
There were brief signs of something better in the preseason, but that hasn’t carried into the regular season. Against Boston, he looked out of place and slow, and at times appeared to be just going through the motions.
Foul trouble followed him throughout the game, and his offensive impact never really arrived. Queta and Garza outplayed him by a mile.
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Payton Pritchards Celtics Role Is Becoming Harder To Defend
Payton Pritchards place in Bostons rotation already feels like one of the more interesting early-season questions. The Celtics have plenty of reasons to value him as a spark off the bench, but there is also a growing case that his influence is too important to keep tethered to a reserve role when the lineup around him needs more dependable ball movement and shot creation.
The argument gets even stronger when you look at how little time he spent with the teams top offensive pieces in the opener. Boston has clearly seen what Pritchard can do in bigger stretches, and the next question is whether the Celtics are willing to give him a longer runway with Jayson Tatum and Paul George instead of treating him strictly as a sixth man. [Read more 🡒]
Jayson Tatum Just Addressed The Biggest Question From Bostons Jaylen Brown Trade
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Kevin Garnett Just Nailed Why Celtics Fans Revere That Title
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For Boston, that perspective lands the way it always has with Garnett. He was already an MVP earlier in his career with Minnesota, but the title he brought to the Celtics became the defining prize, the one tied to a full organizations effort and the run that changed how his place in team history is remembered. [Read more 🡒]